John Chrysostom, On the Letter to the Colossians

forgave you, so also you. Again he speaks in detail; for from kindness comes humility of mind, and from this, long-suffering. Forbearing, he says, one another, that is, bearing with one another. And see how he showed it to be nothing, by calling it a complaint. Then he adds: As Christ also forgave you. Great is the example; which he always does, exhorting them from Christ. A complaint, he says. There he showed it to be a small thing; but when he brought forward the example, he convinced them that even if we have great things to 62.354 complain of, we must forgive. For the phrase, 'As Christ,' means this; and not only this, but also that it must be from the whole heart; and not only this, but that we must also love. For Christ, being brought into the midst, introduces all these things: that even if the offenses be great, even if we happen not to have wronged them first, even if we are great and they are small, even if they are going to insult us even after this, and that we must lay down our life for them; for the word 'As' demands these things; and that one must not stop only at death, but, if possible, even after this. And above all these things, love, which is the bond of perfectness. You see that this is what he says. For since it is possible for one who forgives not to love, Yes, he says, you must also love, and he shows a way by which it is possible to forgive. For it is possible for someone to be kind and meek and humble of mind and long-suffering, and not to love. Therefore, at the beginning he said, Bowels of mercies, and love, and pity. And above all these things, love, which is the bond of perfectness. But what he wishes to say is this, that there is no benefit from those things; for all those things are dissolved, if they are not done with love. This binds all those things together; whatever good thing you may say, when this is absent, is nothing, but flows away. And just as in the case of a ship, even if the equipment is great, if the undergirdings are not there, there is no benefit; and in the case of a house, if the braces are not there; and in the case of a body, even if the bones are great, if the ligaments are not there, there is no benefit. For whatever right actions one may have, all are gone, if love is not present. He did not say that it is the crown, but what is greater, a bond; this is more necessary than that. For a crown is an intensification of perfection, but a bond is the holding together of the things which make perfection, as it were the root. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. γʹ. This is the peace of God, the one that is fixed and firm. If you have peace for the sake of a man, it is quickly dissolved; but if for the sake of God, no longer. And yet he spoke of the universal thing, love, but again he comes to the particular. For there is also an immoderate love, for instance, when from much love someone complains without cause, and has fights and turns away. No, he says, this is not what I want, but as God made peace with you, so also you should do. And how did He make it? He Himself willing it, not having received anything from us. What does it mean, Let the peace of God rule in your hearts? If two thoughts fight, do not let anger, do not let spite hold the prize, but peace; for instance, let there be someone who has been unjustly insulted; from the insult two thoughts were born, one ordering to retaliate, the other to endure, and they wrestle with one another. If the peace of God stands as umpire, it gives the prize to the one ordering to endure, and puts the other to shame. How? By persuading that God is peace, that he has made peace with us. He shows the struggle of the matter to be a great one. Let not anger, he says, be the umpire, not contentiousness, not human peace; 62.355 for human peace comes from retaliating, from not suffering anything terrible. But I do not want this, he says, but that one, which Christ Himself left. He has made a stadium within, in the thoughts, and a contest and a struggle and an umpire. Then again an exhortation: To which you were called, he says; that is, for which you were called. He reminded them of how many good things peace is the cause. For this He called you, for this He called, so that trustworthy

ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν, οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς. Πάλιν κατ' εἶδος λέγει· ἀπὸ χρηστότητος γὰρ ταπεινοφροσύνη, καὶ ἀπὸ ταύτης μακροθυμία. Ἀνεχόμενοι, φησὶν, ἀλλήλων, τουτέστι, παραπεμπόμενοι. Καὶ ὅρα πῶς αὐτὸ οὐδὲν ἔδειξε, μομφὴν καλέσας. Εἶτα ἐπάγει· Καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν. Μέγα τὸ ὑπόδειγμα· ὅπερ ἀεὶ ποιεῖ, ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ προτρέπων αὐτούς. Μομφὴν, φησί. Ἐκεῖ μὲν μικρὸν αὐτὸ ἔδειξεν· ὅτε δὲ τὸ ὑπόδειγμα παρήγαγεν, ἔπεισεν ὅτι κἂν μεγάλα ἔχωμεν ἐγκα 62.354 λεῖν, δεῖ χαρίζεσθαι. Τὸ γὰρ, Καθὼς ὁ Χριστὸς, τοῦτο σημαίνει· καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας· καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ φιλεῖν δεῖ. Ὁ γὰρ Χριστὸς εἰσαχθεὶς εἰς τὸ μέσον πάντα εἰσάγει ταῦτα· καὶ ὅτι κἂν μεγάλα ᾗ, κἂν μὴ προηδικηκότες τύχωμεν, κἂν ἡμεῖς μὲν μεγάλοι, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ μικροὶ, κἂν μέλλωσιν ὑβρίζειν ἡμᾶς καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα, καὶ ὅτι τὴν ψυχὴν δεῖ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν θεῖναι· τὸ γὰρ, Καθὼς, ταῦτα ἀπαιτεῖ· καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲ μέχρι θανάτου μόνον στῆναι δεῖ, ἀλλ', εἰ δυνατὸν, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα. Ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τούτοις τὴν ἀγάπην, ἥτις ἐστὶ σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι τοῦτο λέγει. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔνι χαριζόμενον μὴ φιλεῖν, Ναὶ, φησὶ, καὶ φιλεῖν, καὶ ὁδὸν δείκνυσι, δι' ἧς δυνατὸν χαρίζεσθαι. Ἔστι γὰρ καὶ χρηστὸν εἶναί τινα καὶ πρᾶον καὶ ταπεινόφρονα καὶ μακρόθυμον, καὶ μὴ ποθεῖν. ∆ιὸ ἀρχόμενος εἶπε, Σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ, καὶ ἀγάπην, καὶ ἔλεον. Ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τούτοις τὴν ἀγάπην, ἥτις ἐστὶ σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος. Ὃ δὲ θέλει εἰπεῖν, τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι Οὐδὲν ἐκείνων ὄφελος· διαλύεται γὰρ πάντα ἐκεῖνα, ἂν μὴ μετὰ ἀγάπης γίνηται. Πάντα ἐκεῖνα αὕτη συσφίγγει· ὅπερ ἂν εἴπῃς ἀγαθὸν, ταύτης ἀπούσης, οὐδέν ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ διαῤῥεῖ. Καὶ ὃν τρόπον ἐπὶ πλοίου, κἂν μεγάλα ᾖ τὰ σκεύη, τὰ δὲ ὑποζώματα μὴ ᾖ, οὐδὲν ὄφελος· καὶ ἐπὶ οἰκίας ἐὰν μὴ ὦσιν αἱ ἱμαντώσεις· καὶ ἐπὶ σώματος κἂν μεγάλα ᾖ τὰ ὀστᾶ, οἱ δὲ σύνδεσμοι μὴ ὦσιν, οὐδὲν ὄφελος. Οἷα γὰρ ἐάν τις ἔχῃ κατορθώματα, πάντα φροῦδα, ἀγάπης μὴ οὔσης. Οὐκ εἶπεν, ὅτι κορυφή ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ὃ μεῖζόν ἐστι, σύνδεσμος· ἀναγκαιότερον τοῦτο, ἢ ἐκεῖνο. Κορυφὴ μὲν γὰρ ἐπίτασις τελειότητος, σύνδεσμος δὲ συγκράτησις τῶν τὴν τελειότητα ποιούντων, ὡσανεὶ ἡ ῥίζα. Καὶ ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Θεοῦ βραβευέτω ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, εἰς ἣν καὶ ἐκλήθητε ἐν σώματι ἑνί· καὶ εὐχάριστοι γίνεσθε. γʹ. Ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ πεπηγυῖα καὶ βεβαία αὕτη ἐστίν. Ἂν μὲν δι' ἄνθρωπον ἔχῃς εἰρήνην, ταχέως διαλύεται· ἐὰν δὲ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν, οὐκέτι. Καίτοι τὸ καθολικὸν εἶπε τὴν ἀγάπην, ἀλλὰ πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ ἰδικὸν ἔρχεται. Ἔστι γὰρ καὶ ἄμετρος ἀγάπη, οἶον, ὅταν ἀπὸ πολλῆς τις ἀγάπης ἐγκαλῇ εἰκῆ, καὶ μάχας ἔχῃ καὶ ἀποστρέφηται. Οὒ, φησὶν, οὐ τοῦτο βούλομαι, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐποίησεν εἰρήνην πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς, οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε. Πῶς δὲ ἐποίησεν; Αὐτὸς θελήσας, οὐ παρ' ἡμῶν τι λαβών. Τί ἐστιν; Ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Θεοῦ βραβευέτω ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν; Ἐὰν μάχωνται λογισμοὶ δύο, μὴ στήσῃς τὸν θυμὸν, μὴ στήσῃς τὴν ἐπήρειαν κατέχουσαν τὸ βραβεῖον, ἀλλὰ τὴν εἰρήνην· οἷον, ἔστω τις ὑβρισθεὶς ἀδίκως· ἀπὸ τῆς ὕβρεως ἐτέχθησαν λογισμοὶ δύο, ὁ μὲν κελεύων ἀμύνασθαι, ὁ δὲ ἐνεγκεῖν, καὶ παλαίουσιν ἀλλήλοις. Ἐὰν ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑστήκῃ βραβεύουσα, τῷ κελεύοντι φέρειν δίδωσι τὸ βραβεῖον, καὶ καταισχύνει ἐκεῖνον. Πῶς; Πείθουσα ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς εἰρήνη ἐστὶν, ὅτι εἰρήνευσεν ἡμῖν. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς δείκνυσι πολὺν τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῦ πράγματος. Μὴ θυμὸς, φησὶ, βραβευέτω, μὴ φιλονεικία, μὴ ἀνθρωπίνη εἰρήνη· 62.355 ἡ γὰρ ἀνθρωπίνη εἰρήνη ἐκ τοῦ ἀμύνασθαι γίνεται, ἐκ τοῦ μηδὲν πάσχειν δεινόν. Ἀλλ' οὐ ταύτην βούλομαι, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ἐκείνην, ἣν ὁ Χριστὸς ἀφῆκεν αὐτός. Στάδιον ἔνδον ἐποίησεν ἐν τοῖς λογισμοῖς, καὶ ἀγῶνα καὶ ἄθλησιν καὶ βραβευτήν. Εἶτα πάλιν προτροπή· Εἰς ἣν ἐκλήθητε, φησί· τουτέστιν, ἐφ' ᾗ ἐκλήθητε. Ἀνέμνησεν ὅσων ἀγαθῶν αἰτία ἡ εἰρήνη. ∆ιὰ ταύτην σε ἐκάλεσεν, ἐπὶ ταύτῃ ἐκάλεσεν, ὥστε ἀξιόπιστον